Write your own romance
by SageK
Summary: Liam, an aspiring writer is dumped by their soon to be published novelist girlfriend, so he decides to take a leap of faith and sign up for a romance writing retreat at a quaint Vermont in shortly before Christmas. There he meets Theo, the resort's chef, and romance blooms.


Trying to be as quiet as he could possibly be, Liam tiptoed into the apartment he shared with his girlfriend. He clutched a bright bouquet of flowers in his hand, bought from a florist down the block. There was a lot to celebrate today and he thought it was well worth taking half a day off from work to come home early in order to surprise her. He kind of suspected that Hayden was planning to surprise him with the news of her novels publication, which was why she hadn't called him immediately. He only knew because a cousin of his dad's who worked for her agent.

Over the past few months, Hayden had been increasingly distant. Liam feared they were growing apart, but perhaps this was a sign of positive things to come. Maybe she'd just been feeling stressed, waiting to know if her book deal would happen.

The kitchen and living room were both quiet and empty, but Hayden's purse was on the counter. Thinking she might be taking a nap, Liam made his way over to the bedroom door but paused, a hand resting on the knob.

He could hear something through the door. Grunts and moans and gasps. The slap of skin on skin. The squeak of bedsprings….

Distressingly familiar sounds.

Liam really didn't want to open the door, but he knew he had to.

Hayden was kneeling on their bed, eyes closed, a concupiscent expression on her face. She was naked (save for a pair of striped knee socks), skin glistening with a sheen of sweat as a large, swarthy man took her from behind. While Hayden didn't see him immediately, her lover did and he smirked at Liam, grabbing Hayden's hips and thrusting harder into her, which made her wail and shudder in a way that Liam knew very well.

Fuck, he _hated_ Gabe. The smarmy bastard worked for the same accounting firm Liam did and loved making Liam's life harder. Most of the worker bees at the firm were just biding their time, trying to make it big in a more creative field. Gabe was a wannabe who considered himself to be an undiscovered male supermodel and thus thought writers like Liam to be beneath him.

Clearly, he liked having Hayden beneath him in a different kind of way.

The pretty flowers slipped from Liam's grasp and landed on the wood floor with a thump. That was when Hayden opened her eyes and started screaming at him.

* * *

"She was actually mad at _me_ for coming home early, like that was the issue instead of the fact that she was fucking another guy in our bed!"

Liam took a long sip of his beer to punctuate his statement. Mason and Corey, sitting on the couch with him, listened in sympathetic support. After the debacle with Hayden (she'd berated him for not calling before he came home even as Gabe lolled indolently on the bed), he'd thrown some clothes into a bag and headed over to his best friend's place.

"You know she was just trying to shift the guilt off of herself. You'd have to be some kind of narcissist to blame the person being cheated on," Mason said, patting his back. "You can stay here as long as you need. We'll go get the rest of your stuff tomorrow."

Corey nodded agreeably. "Gabe is a jerk," he said, which was a pretty damning assessment from the soft-spoken young man. "If that's how they're going to act, then maybe they deserve each other."

"Thanks guys," he said, slumping back in his seat. "I'm just...this is such a hit, you know? I thought we were good together. I mean yeah, things have been a little off lately, but I never thought…."

"You need to get your mind off of her," Mason said, pulling out his phone. "Call your boss, take some of the hundreds of hours of vacation time you've been squirreling away. You're going to come with us to Vermont for the writing workshop!"

Mason, who was fast becoming a name for his fledgling series of urban fantasy werewolf novels, and Corey, who wrote popular romance under a pen name, had tried to get Liam and Hayden to join them at the workshop before, but Hayden had never wanted to go. Now however….

"Are there still spots open?" he asked sitting up. Sure, romance wasn't his preferred genre, but it might be good to learn the ins-and-outs of a romantic scene from the pros. Good books didn't always need a romantic subplot but it couldn't hurt to get some insight from someone who really knew the genre.

From his spot peeking over Mason shoulder, Corey nodded. "A couple. One less now that Mason just signed you up. Pack your snow boots!"

Downing the rest of his beer, Liam let out a laugh. This was going to be good because things really couldn't get any worse.

* * *

"I forgot how much I hate snow."

It was pretty, sure, but, as Liam had just been reminded, very slippery and full of danger. He lay on his back, looking up at the blue sky, trying to work out what had happened when a pale face appeared above him.

"What are you doing down there?"

"I fell in a hole," Liam said, sitting up and dusting himself off. "Why is there a hole here?"

The dark-haired young man gave him an unimpressed look. "It's snow. Kids like to dig holes."

Fair enough.

"I think I…."

"Yeah, yeah, your friends are already inside checking in and they noticed you had wandered off," he said and Liam noted the name on his fleece vest. STILES. "Come on, this way."

As they walked toward the cute lodge, Liam dusted himself off, his cheeks tingling from the chill. He breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped inside and were greeted by a crackling fire.

The Hale Inn seemed to be a sprawling home that had been added to and remodeled over the years. Liam enter the lobby, which was all rustic Farmhouse charm as Stiles joined another young man (SCOTT) behind the registration desk. To the left, he could see a cozy sitting room (with another fireplace) and to the right a dining room. He assumed the kitchen was probably attached somewhere behind that. All in all, it looked like a nice place.

His room wound up being in one of the buildings attached to the main lodge. It was apparently one of the smaller rooms, but Liam thought it was pretty nice. He had a private, full bathroom, a kitchenette with a small fridge, sink, cooktop and convection microwave oven, a small table that folded out from the wall, a sofa, queen bed, dresser, clothes rack and bedside table. A flat screen tv hung on the wall and there was a charging dock for smart devices on the dresser.

Thoughtful.

Mason and Corey went off to their own room, ostensibly to 'nap', after the long trip. Not feeling particularly tired himself, Liam unpacked and then flipped through the TV. The writing workshop didn't technically start till tomorrow, but that didn't mean he couldn't do some writing… nah.

Instead, he wandered down to find something to eat.

Stiles and Scott had been joined at the desk by a tall blond guy in a long sleeved white t-shirt and flour splattered jeans. They nodded amiably as he passed and headed for the empty dining room. He noted a counter and a few stools running along the back wall and an open window that seemed to look back into the kitchen.

According to the sign, full lunch service didn't start for another 30 minutes, but Liam's stomach growled when he smelled whatever was cooking out back. Maybe he could just get a little something now, he thought as he looked at the menu. Eat a bit to take the edge off and then get something else in a couple hours….

"Anything catch your eye?"

Liam looked up from the menu and found a young man looking out at him from the kitchen. He was probably around Liam's age, maybe a bit older, with sun kissed skin and the sort of face and body that would make douchebag Gabe jealous...at least, that's what Liam was guessing from the muscles of his shoulders, arms and chest, which were nicely displayed in a black tank top.

"Uh….," Liam said, feeling flustered before he managed to blurt, "Food. Food looks good."

Wow. Smooth Liam, no wonder you haven't been published, he chastised himself as the hot chef blinked.

"Yeah, we try," he drawled, then peered out into the dining room. "Are you lost? Is there someone looking for you…."

Shaking himself, Liam managed to get out a more coherent sentence. "No, sorry. It was a long trip. We flew into Boston last night and Mason is a sadist and made us get up at 4am to drive here," he said, a bit embarrassed by his faux pas. "Uh, what do you recommend?"

Hot Chef — Liam needed to get his name — shrugged. "If you're not waiting for lunch...cup of tomato soup with 2 ham and Swiss sliders," he said with a nod. "Can't go wrong with that."

Liam's stomach growled loudly in response. "That sounds great."

He disappeared from view, off into parts of the kitchen that were not directly in front of the little order window. Liam could hear him moving around back there and breathed deep, taking in the aromas of food cooking.

A thud from nearby startled him. Glancing over, Liam saw Stiles standing by the door that led into the kitchen, massaging his shoulder. He glared at the offending door before slapping it with his open palm. "Theo! You absolute ass! Unlock the door!"

"You don't need to be back here, Stiles," Hot Chef — Theo's voice echoed out, sounding bored, with just a hint of amusement.

"Yes I do. Scott and I are starving and Nolan's AWOL so Isaac is helping carry bags and we can't bug him to bring us food," Stiles addressed the door, crossing his arms and tapping his foot indignantly.

Theo appeared in the window and placed a plate with two small sliders and a cup of rich looking soup in front of Liam. Utensils and a brown glass soda bottle soon followed.

"Hey! Why does he get served without the attitude?" Stiles protested, eyeing the sliders.

They did look good. Fluffy, perfectly browned buns with some kind of glaze on top, ham and melted Swiss poking out the sides. The steaming cup of soup looked good too and Liam hummed in appreciation as he took a taste.

Correctly taking that sound as the approval it as, Theo finally looked over at Stiles. "He's a guest and he hasn't annoyed me like you do."

Stiles huffed and Liam had to chuckle at their interaction. "I don't know how Isaac can work with you. He's...All squirrelly but you are the worst," he grumbled, then added, "If you give me some sliders I'll go away."

The speed with which Theo pushed a larger plate of sliders over the counter told Liam that he's been preparing it before Stiles made his offer to go away. As soon as he got to the plate, Stiles headed back to the lobby, announcing, "Scotty! I got the goods!"

"Sorry, Scott's still trying to house train him," Theo drawled at Liam, folding his arms on the sill of the window. "So, you in town for a winter festival or a ski trip?"

"Oh, uh, neither. I'm a writer, trying to be anyway and there's a workshop," he mumbled and Theo nodded.

"Oh yeah, they do those every year with a different theme," Theo said. "Seem to be pretty popular. It's focused on romance this year, right?"

He didn't seem to be mocking, so Liam just nodded. "I figure it can't hurt. I mean, I thought I was good at romance, but I just walked in on my ex with another guy and hadn't even known something was wrong, so…."

Theo winced. "Ouch. That sucks, man….Well a little vacation never hurts after that sort of thing."

"My best friend and his boyfriend are here for the workshop too. They seem to think I should have a vacation romance to get over her or something but...I don't do that sort of thing," Liam said with a sigh, not knowing why he was spilling his guts to a virtual stranger.

To hide how awkward he felt, Liam picked up a slider and took a big bite...and promptly moaned. The bun was soft and almost melted to mix with the creamy Swiss cheese and seasoned ham, the mustardy glaze adding a hint of kick.

Wow.

A satisfied smirk flicked across Theo's face. "Enjoy...and I hope you find what you're looking for."

* * *

The beef tenderloin kebabs and crispy chicken wings he had for lunch were just as good and Liam was sucking the last of the meat from the bones when Mason and Corey wandered into the dining room to join him. Looking over the picked clean plates, Mason asked, "Well, looks like your appetite is back."

Propping the bare bone onto the little pile, Liam nodded. "The food here is really good."

Corey picked up the menu card, glancing it over. "This does look nice."

When the anxious young waiter, Alec, made his way over, Mason and Corey both ordered the butternut squash bisque and pumpkin gnocchi with pale ales from a local brewery. Unable to help himself, Liam ordered a plate of house fries (which were seasoned and topped with bacon, cheese sauce, sour cream and chives).

He was on vacation, he deserved to splurge.

"Have a good nap?" Liam couldn't help but tease, making Corey blush and Mason grin. The three of them sat there chatting and Alec was back in short order. As the food was handed out, Liam was surprised to see a small dish of what looked to be spiced apples, a topping, ice cream, caramel and whipped cream.

"I didn't order this, but I will take it," Liam said, which made Alec laugh.

"No, no, uh, Theo sent it out. He said you could use something sweet," he murmured, face going pink before he scampered off to another table.

Looking between the fries and the dessert, Liam was trying to decide what he wanted to eat first when he realized Mason and Corey staring.

"What?"

* * *

The next morning, Liam woke curled up under a down comforter and flannel sheets, wonderfully warm in the cool room. By the time he'd finished dinner (a pan seared Venison Loin with Sweet Potatoes), he'd been stuffed full and exhausted. It was all he could do to stagger off to bed.

It was still dark when he rolled out of bed and into his gym clothes, not caring if he looked like a zombie. After yesterday (and anticipating more amazing food), he wanted to hit the gym. He'd brush his teeth and shower off a few days of ick after. No one looked good at the gym anyways if they were really working out and not taking selfies.

Apparently, Theo the hot chef was a freak of nature who defied the laws of the world as Liam knew them.

Why was he perfectly tanned in the winter?

Why did he look like he was glistening, not a sweaty mess?

How was his hair perfect?

Also he'd totally been right about Theo having a body to match his face… and the typical male model lack of body hair.

"Excuse me?" Theo asked, sounding amused as he paused mid chest press.

Liam blinked at him. "What? I didn't say anything. Hi."

"Hey," Theo said, slowly resuming his work out. As Liam stepped onto a treadmill and set it to a jog to warm up, he continued, "I could have sworn you said something about my lack of body hair."

If anyone asked, Liam would not admit to missing a step and consequently falling off of the treadmill.

* * *

The hot blueberry muffin with some kind of magical fucking orange/vanilla/crack glaze more than made up for his bruised ego and shins.

* * *

"People, settle down, you can talk about the pretend people you've made up to entertain yourselves later!" Bobby Finstock, the Hale Inn's Activities Director bellowed, his loud voice echoing through the sitting room and making the 50 or so authors present look up. The man was standing precariously atop a coffee table, which occasionally swayed, making his young assistant nervous. "Normally, I have the utmost confidence that these events are being led by the best, but as I was out of commission for a month due to an unfortunate ear candling accident, my assistant has organized this event. If you have any complaints, please wrap them around lumps of coal and throw them at Greenberg."

The nervous young man waved at the room and Finstock heaved a sigh. "Stop it, Greenberg. Anyhow, everyone, this is… Greenburg, I am going to kill you… this is Gwendolyn Candipuff-Llanfairpwllgwyngyll."

That last name was mostly a garbled noise instead of a word and polite applause rose as he scrambled off of the table.

"I think everyone who works here might be a little crazy," Corey whispered. "Mase and I saw the owner, his daughter and nephew fighting outside earlier. Like, beating the crap out of each other. Shirtless. In the snow. The guys I mean, The girl had a shirt, but short shorts."

"And Nolan, the bellboy just shrugged and said they like to spar," Mason confirmed with a nod. "It was weird."

"Oh, I think things are about to get weirder," Liam muttered as an oddly spherical woman wearing head to toe pink and far too much 80's inspired makeup puttered up to the front of the room.

"Hello, everyone!" She said, beaming out at them, her voice high and breathy. "Welcome to Writing Romances: A Guide to Happy Endings! While I'm sure you all recognize me from the Author Page of my seminal works _Heaving Hearts_, _Longing For Your Loving _and _Endless Ecstasy, _I am Gwendolyn Candipuff-Llanfairpwllgwyngyll."

Gwendolyn was a short, plump woman in her 40's with a fashion sense that made Liam's eyes hurt. Her permed hair was dyed a shocking pink and she'd adorned it with glittery butterfly clips. The fuzzy fleece top she wore was a lighter shade of pink, as were half the stripes on her zebra print leggings (the other stripes were silver), but her Ugg boots and lipstick perfectly matched her hair. Lots of silver bangles adorned her wrists, jangling as she moved.

She stood there, arms extended, waiting to bask in their adulation but honestly the majority of the room was stunned into silence. There were a few stilted claps, more confused coughs and choking (clearly someone was trying to hide their laughter) from the lobby and Liam turned to see Scott dragging Stiles away from the doorway.

A small contingent of enthusiastic women gave a cheer, but upon realizing she wasn't going to receive more applause, Gwendolyn pouted and lowered her arms.

"She's like every bad stereotype about romance authors magnified," Corey hissed to them and Mason and Liam nodded. The woman was a cliche.

"Where is the boy with my drink?" Gwendolyn demanded. "How can I be expected to inspire and nurture creative minds if I am not properly caffeinated? I need my Venti iced vanilla bean caramel Macchiato, ten pumps vanilla syrup, ten pumps vanilla caramel syrup, 25 pumps caramel syrup, half caff, two shots espresso, non-fat, full cream, extra foam, absolutely no sugar, stirred precisely 27.5 times clockwise and 13 times counterclockwise before the whip is added, extra whip that must be at least 17 centimetres high, soft peaks, perfect symmetry, extra caramel drizzle and caramel chips! Is that simple drink asking too much?!"

As she spoke, Isaac, the blond who worked in the kitchen with Theo, entered, holding out a container that Liam thought was probably usually used to serve iced tea in the summer. The… liquid inside the pitcher moved sluggishly, the ice cubes not even clinking against the glass. Syrup pooled inches deep at the bottom and Liam could smell the sugar high rolling off of the diabetes cocktail inside.

Gwendolyn descended upon the drink, producing an extra large straw from the sparkly little pink backpack she wore. Plunging the straw into the pitcher, she wrapped her lips around it and began slurping away. The liquid in the cup fought against moving up the straw, but she moaned as though tasting ambrosia. "Lovely, dear, put it on the table," she ordered Isaac and, when he turned, she patted him on the ass.

Isaac shot out of the room like a scalded cat.

Liam kind of wished he could join him.

"Now, the first thing a romance author needs is a name," Gwendolyn said, then motioned to herself… yikes, those were some long, pink, bedazzled nails. "Not everyone is born with a unique and lovely name like mine, so I'd like you to split into groups of eight or nine and brainstorm pen names."

With that, she descended on her Macchiato monstrosity, clearly fighting to suck up the viscous substance through the straw. Around the room, the still stunned workshop attendees began to break off into smaller clusters as directed.

Liam found himself sitting in a little circle with Mason, Corey and five strangers; three ladies and two men.

The pale, pretty brunette smiled at everyone and said, "Hi. I'm Allison Argent… has anyone been to one of these workshops before? Is this normal?"

"I have and no, it's not," A tall, handsome African American man with kind eyes and a nice smile said, "Name's Vernon Boyd. Call me Boyd."

The others were Jordan Parrish, a young man who looked like he'd wandered off of the pages of an L.L. Bean catalogue, Kira Yukimura, a cute Asian woman in a Marvel T-shirt and Danielle Elleinad, an attractive, zaftig African American woman with intense eyes. After they made their introductions, they talked about their preferred genres. Mason of course had his urban fantasy werewolves while Corey actually wrote romance and Liam liked adventure in a historical setting. Boyd was a critically acclaimed mystery novelist and Jordan's spy thrillers had actually made appearances on best sellers lists. One of Danielle's YA novels had been optioned as a movie, while Allison wrote supernatural thrillers and Kira was into fantasy/sci-fi romance.

All of them quickly decided that they liked their own names. As the only actual romance novelist in the group, Corey assured them that a strange name was definitely not a requirement for success in the genre.

Only one group actually played along with the exercise. They proudly stood up, each rattling off a 'new' name, much to Gwendolyn's delight.

"Penelope Dreamangel!"

"Calpurnia Goldenrod!"

"Starring Morningstar!"

"Blue Moon!"

"Dove Lovegood!"

"Sugar Beth Hart!"

"Daisy Heathcliffe!"

"Honey Blossom!"

Clapping enthusiastically, Gwendolyn enthused, "Oh my, I think it's clear which group got all the talent! Bravo Ladies!"

Later, it would come out that all the members of this little group also belonged to an online forum Gwendolyn ran. Honestly, no one was surprised.

"There's a whole lot of issues in that part of the room," Danielle murmured, nodding over to where Gwen was fawning over her acolytes.

Everyone agreed with that assessment. "At least if she's focused on them then she won't be over here," Kira pointed out softly.

Trundling up to the front of the room again, Gwendolyn said, "Let's talk about sub genres in romance. YA, NA or Adult Romance? Suspense, Historical, Contemporary, Erotic, Spiritual, Paranormal...What moves you? Let's discuss!"

* * *

The rest of the morning went along the same tone. There was a brief writing exercise (Allison had forgotten a pen and Scott from the front desk ducked in to give her one), then Gwendolyn had recommended they all buy her books to read as she felt they were required reading for anyone who truly wanted to understand real romance.

That wasn't going to happen.

When they were released, it was lunch time and, given that it was Saturday, the dining room was packed. Of course there were other guests, plus some of the writers hadn't come alone. Boyd joined a stunning blonde at her table and snagged some of her fries, while Danielle accepted a kiss from an attractive young man, announcing that she hoped the bar was open after the morning they had had.

Maybe a drink would help them forget how Gwendolyn's voice always pitched up oddly when she talked about climaxes in stories. She talked about climaxes a lot.

"I think I need to try the venison stew," Liam said to the pretty young woman, Malia, who was taking their lunch order.

She grinned at him. "Good choice, that's my favorite," she approved and took Mason and Corey's orders. As she was walking back toward the kitchen, Stiles ran into her. She stumbled and was caught by Kira, who wound up practically dipping Malia as though they were dancing. Stiles himself wound up sitting in Jordan's lap.

For a moment, the room was quiet, till Boyd's friend started clapping and whistled, "Real smooth, Batman!"

There were chuckles all around and Alec, passing by, muttered, "No one got soup spilled on them. I call that a win."

"I told you we should have gone to Whistler," a guy at a nearby table complained.

"I like it here," one of his companions said with an easy smile, making the redhead with them chuckle.

"You like the blond you saw shoveling when we checked in," she retorted with a looks that dared him to protest.

Corey smiled. "If this was a rom-com, Kira and Jordan would fall in love with Malia and Stiles."

"Does that count as a meet cute?" Mason laughed and Liam rolled his eyes at their antics.

"I think your 'switched coffee' meet cute still holds the title," Liam said, glancing over to where Theo was handing plates of food out the kitchen window to Malia.

* * *

After lunch, Gwendolyn told them to explore and be inspired by their surroundings. Corey and Mason decided to go do some private exploring, so Liam wandered the Inn for a bit before bundling up in his warmest jeans and coat to venture outside.

There were a few people out skating on the frozen pond, clearly having a blast, but Liam had never really been one for skating. The same went for skiing and snowboarding. He was still a southern California boy at heart and being out in this cold and snow went against his nature.

It was gorgeous though. Snow was falling gently and corn snow crunched under his boots as he walked around the side of the inn, hands crammed in his pockets. Liam could see a small barn over by the edge of the pine trees and began to walk towards it, but he hadn't made it far when the door on the rear of the main Inn building swung open, startling him. Theo, in jeans, a white henley and a black vest, stepped out, a metal mixing bowl in hand. A small smile quirked a corner of his mouth when he saw Liam and began to stroll toward him.

"You escaped that demented MaryKay, I see," he said by way of greeting.

Liam let out a snort of laughter. "She'd not that bad," he said with authority. "She's worse."

Theo nodded. "Isaac's traumatized. I told him to put thumbtacks in his back pockets, but he didn't listen."

"Thumbtacks?" Liam said, fascinated and appalled. "Wouldn't that just poke him too?"

"You put them in your pockets carefully," Theo said, pushing the barn doors open when they arrived. "Poke them out through the fabric of the pocket just a bit."

"Huh," Liam replied, filing that bit of information away. He was about to follow up that line of thought when he realized a dozen or more cats had emerged from the recesses of the barn. "Um, what's with the cats?"

Theo grinned and scooped a handful of something from the bowl, tossing it to the cats. "They know I come bearing scraps," he said, making sure to throw each cat some of the meat bits. "They get fed cat food, but this is the good stuff, so they're my buddies."

As if to prove his point, a large ginger cat began to rub against his shins, purring like a fuzzy little motor.

"They're big," Liam said, crouching and petting the head of a gray cat.

"Most of them are Maine Coon cats," Theo told him, placing the now empty bowl down on the floor. Three of the closest cats immediately hustled over to investigate. "They come in to the common areas sometimes, but they seem to like hanging out here the best."

When he stood, he was holding the ginger cat like a baby, scratching under its chin. The giant cat stretched, clearly basking in the attention. Liam smile at sight. "I bet they like the fireplace in the lobby."

Theo laughed. "Oh yeah, they definitely love the fires," he agreed, "Some of them even find their way up to the employee bunk room at night, but that makes Stiles nuts. He thinks they're out to get him."

"What?"

"Well, he may have almost fallen down the stairs after tripping on Butthole over there," Theo told him, nodding to a black cat, who was sitting regally on a bale of hay. "Ever since then, he'll tell anyone who will listen that the cats are my furry minions of evil."

Liam raised his brows. "They don't seem very murderous to me. Have you been ordering them to do your evil bidding?"

"Not lately," Theo chuckled, sitting on some hay. "So, you having fun with your seminar?"

"It's supposed to be a writing workshop," Liam informed him, then grimaced. "It's not what I thought it would be. I was expecting to learn how to work a bit more romance into my plots, but I can't picture learning anything from…"

"The anthropomorphized Hostess Snowball?" Theo asked sympathetically. "Is romance that hard to write?"

With a sigh, Liam shrugged. "Like I told you, I've had some bad luck with romance."

For a long moment, Theo stared at him. "From what you said, she's the one who had the problem, not you," he opined, his long lashes brushing his cheeks when he blinked.

"Thanks," Liam replied and they sat there for a while before Theo sighed.

"Gotta head back in. Isaac should have dinner prep done. I told him he could split after dinner service, since he's got a hot date."

Liam perked up a bit at that and asked, "Dinner?"

* * *

The chicken pot pies for dinner were wonderful, as was the big slice of rich chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. Most of the guests had been in the dining hall, so it was even busier than lunch had been. Organized chaos Mason had called it and he was right.

Nolan dropped his tray twice and wound up banished to bussing tables by Scott, who seemed to be nominally in charge. Though Scott himself seem to be distracted, repeatedly glancing over at Allison, who was smiling at him.

"Love is in the air," Corey mused. Liam knew he was referring to the fact that several people from the retreat seem to be flirting with members of the Inn staff, but still his own face warmed.

He didn't know why he was flushed, he just was….

"This isn't what I ordered."

It was the guy who had been muttering about Whistler at lunch. His friends looked annoyed and Malia, who was serving their table frowned.

"You ordered the pork medallions and sweet potatoes," she said in a clipped tone. "I know because you've already sent it back two times. This is pork and sweet potatoes."

The young man smirked and crossed his arms. "It's not what I ordered."

Malia stared at him for a long moment, then, without breaking eye contact, grabbed a knife, stabbed some pork, dipped it in the sweet potatoes and ate it off the blade. "Pork and Sweet Potatoes," she growled before grabbing the dish and stalking off with it.

The redhead with the jerk glared at him. "Stop it. Eat your food so Danny can go on his date."

"Thank you," Their friend - Danny - said. "There's nothing wrong with the food you keep sending back, Jackson."

Jackson - the asshole- crossed his arms. "I can't help it if I have high standards," he grumbled.

Over by the back wall, the kitchen door burst open. Theo stalked out, a plate in hand. He was wearing a white tank top, jeans, an apron and a bandana to hold his hair back. He carried the plate over to Jackson and set it down. Liam didn't know you could set a plate down with such aggression without slamming it. "Pork medallions, sweet potatoes. That is this dish and it's what you ordered. Enjoy."

Then he turned to Liam's table, thunderous expression gone. "You guys enjoying your dessert?"

"Yeah," Liam agreed, licking a bit of chocolate off of his lip. Theo's eyes followed the motion and he swallowed.

"Good… yeah…," Theo replied, then shook himself and turned back to the other table to address Danny. "Isaac will be out soon."

Then he fled back to the kitchen.

* * *

"Remember, romance needs to be epic! You must have relatable characters! The shy, slightly dowdy heroine and the handsome, outgoing man who falls for her. These will be key elements in any successful romance novel. If you can set this in the victorian era, all the better! Oh, or have pirates or vampires. Everyone loves a sexy vampire…"

"Do you think we can call a bottle of orange juice with a tiny bit of juice and a lot of vodka a mimosa?" Allison muttered under her breath, pulling said bottle out of her bag. "It's a bit early for screwdrivers, but…"

Corey nodded. "We need booze to get through this."

As they busied themselves, pouring drinks into little plastic cups Allison had also unearthed from her bag, one of Gwendolyn's acolytes asked, "What about Vampire Pirates?"

Their cotton candy colored 'mentor' let out a screech that sent the two cats lounging by the fireplace fleeing from the room. "Transcendent! Everyone! I want a synopsis of what your vampire pirate novel would entail!"

Liam envied the cats.

While Gwendolyn slurped on her trough of coffee flavored caramel and syrup, they began to write out their assignments.

"Anyone else already over this?" Danielle muttered while they all wrote.

Tossing her a grin, Liam said, "I think all of us are."

"Vampire pirates," Mason muttered, shaking his head. "I have a feeling she's looking for sparkly Fabio with an eye patch and fangs sweeping a pink haired woman off of her feet."

Jordan wrinkled his nose. "I don't think subtle is in her vocabulary. The more over the top, the better."

With a giggle, Kira rolled her eyes. "I bet the worst, most cliched ideas will be declared genius."

"So we drink and just try to write badly," Allison offered happily and they all chuckled.

"Oh God no, don't. I can't take her squealing," Corey begged and, as if on cue, a screech rose up as Gwendolyn peered over the shoulder of one of her followers.

"You named your heroine after moi?" she howled, one overly manicured hand pressed to her pink velour tracksuited chest. "You absolute doll! Let me see…_Bookish maiden heiress Gwendolyn Percy-Fitzgibbons thought her short but brilliant life over when villainous pirates raided her ship and took her captive to satiate their carnal desires. But the unexpected happened and her quiet, regal beauty caught the eye and affections of rogue Captain Brock Longwood, who protects her virtue from the less attractive and civil members of his crew. Despite herself, Gwendolyn is drawn to the strapping Captain and soon gives in to their shared desires…_.OH MY DEAR, THIS IS GLORIOUS! GENIUS!"

Their group traded stricken looks and Allison began to pour another round.

* * *

"Ummmm, where are you going?"

Hearing the now familiar voice, Liam smiled and spun around, stumbling a bit. Darn snow. So slippery. "Hey Theo!" He said, giving a wave. "I'm going sledding."

He hefted a sled he'd found in the activity room and nodded, his point made.

Theo cocked a brow at him. "Sounds fun...the sledding hill is over there."

He pointed in the direction opposite of the path Liam had been forging through the snow.

Huh.

"Right," he agreed and began trudging toward the hill. After a few steps, he paused. "Wanna sled with me?"

For a moment, Theo hesitated, but then he nodded, smiling softly. Together, they climbed the hill, joining other people who had decided to enjoy some fun.

Liam placed the sled on the snow, but everytime he let go to climb on, it started to slip away. "Why won't this thing stay in place?"

"It's not meant to do that," Theo reminded him, then held out his hands for the sled. "Give it to me."

Surrendering the sled to him, Liam watched as Theo held the sled against his ass and then sat, keeping his feet firmly planted on the snow. "Hop on," he urged and Liam flushed, looking at the space between the chef's thick, denim clad thighs.

He didn't let himself feel and practically flung himself onto thiam's lap, squirming to get comfortable. Once he was settled, he could enjoy being bracketed by powerful thighs, a hard chest against his back.

"Ready?" Theo asked as his arms slid around Liam, because yeah, that made responding easier.

Managing a nod, Liam let out a whoop as Theo pushed off, pulling his feet up onto the sled and letting them careen down the hill. Their combined body weight caused the sled to get good speed and Liam grinned happily.

Maybe snow wasn't so bad after all.

Of course, that was when they hit a bump and toppled out of the sled, rolling to a breathless stop at the bottom of the hill.

Theo was laughing, Liam could feel the vibration of his chest… oh, he could feel it because he was sprawled on top of him. This… was definitely not terrible.

"That was fun," he managed breathlessly, looking down at Theo's face, so close, cheeks flushed red from the cold…

If it had been a perfect world, that would have been an ideal moment for a kiss.

But the world was not perfect… and Liam had spent the morning drinking vodka 'mimosas' and eating chocolate before hurling himself down a hill.

Managing not to vomit directly on Theo was about as perfect as he was going to get.

Theo was very nice about the whole thing, patting his back as he wretched and then helping him back to his room.

* * *

"What was the OJ to alcohol ratio in those mimosas?" Liam asked Allison the next morning as he settled down into a seat in the sitting room, clutching the mug of coffee he'd already refilled several times.

She grinned at him and admitted it was mostly vodka.

Allison was pretty awesome.

Scott from the front desk seemed to think so too because she gave him a smile and a wave, which he returned with the most besotted smile ever.

"Oh, look, she brought visual aids today," Danielle drawled, clearly unimpressed as Gwendolyn tottered into the room, a poster board in hand.

"Dear God, please don't be any pictures that she might think would inspire our romantic natures," Jordan said. "I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that would be… wrong on so many levels."

Boyd snorted. "Why do I feel she'd cut and paste Fabio's head and hair onto the bodies of male porn stars?"

"I think furries would be involved," Kira said with a nod. "Pink furries."

They all considered that for a moment and shuddered.

"Did you bring anymore vodka?" Mason asked. "I think I need to pour it directly on my brain to erase that image."

Corey grinned at his boyfriend. "Pink Tickle Me Elmo."

Mason then thumped him good with a throw pillow, which was a completely appropriate response to that horrific imagery.

Thankfully, the poster just displayed a rather sad attempt at a flow chart.

**Damsel in distress == Handsome Hero Saves her == Happily Ever After!**

Not exactly a groundbreaking insight on plot structure.

While she stood up there and expounded on the importance of the hero saving the damsel in peril, they all chatted softly and worked on their own manuscripts. Liam had been making good headway into his novel and had drafted an email with a summary of the book, sending it off to a few publishers, just to get a feel for what the market was looking for.

If was a really productive morning, if they ignored Gwendolyn and her minions.

Around 10am, Theo walked in, hauling a refill of Gwendolyn's abomination of a drink. The pink clad wonder's eyes lit up when she saw him and she moved surprisingly quickly over to him, one of her bedazzled claws wrapping around his wrist.

"Well, thank you!" She cooed at him. "I just can't be without my sippy sippy! A strapping young man like yourself must be used to saving willing damsels."

Theo blinked at her, then looked down at where she was touching him. "Actually, I prefer someone who can save themselves," he said. "Don't have time for clingy and useless."

She tutted. "Oh posh! Every man likes to feel strong. To prove his virility!"

In a smooth motion, Theo slid his wrist out of her clutches. "I'm plenty secure in my masculinity, thanks," he said, backing out of the room, not giving her a shot at his ass.

Isaac had been groped several times over the past few days.

Clearly Theo had been warned… Though given the view of his ass, clad in skinny olive cargo pants today, Liam understood the impulse to grab it.

After Theo made his escape, Gwendolyn fanned herself and announced, "Take inspiration from your surroundings, my students!"

More oh so unique advice.

Not.

And students? Hell no.

"More like captive audience," Danielle muttered and Liam didn't disagree.

* * *

Having been struck with inspiration, Liam wrote through lunch and, by 3pm, his stomach was rumbling. He found his way into the mostly empty dining hall. Isaac was sitting at a table, chatting with Danny, the guy who was usually with Jackson the asshole and Lydia.

Stiles was at the window, obviously trying to get Theo to give him food. "Come on, I know you've got it back there! I just want a hot dog!"

There was a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, we all know you do," he muttered, then appeared in the window. "But I'll tell you again, I don't have any hot dogs."

"Well fine, sausages then," Stiles said, shaking a finger. "There's sausage in the soup. Just fry one up and stick it in a hot dog bun, slap on the ketchup, mustard, relish, onions, sauerkraut, beans and bam! Hot Dog.."

Theo looked like that suggestion physically pained him. "I will not stick a nice Italian sausage in a hot dog bun. Also, I don't have any hot dog buns," he growled, then turned to Liam. "Hey. What are you having?"

"I'll try the sausage soup and garlic bread," Liam said, because it sounded good and he was sure it would make Stiles sputter.

He was right.

But, a few minutes later, when Theo handed Liam his lunch, he also pushed a plate of sausage sandwiches on garlic bread at Stiles, who gleefully made off with his bounty.

"So, how goes the writing?" Theo asked, propping his forearms up on the windowsill. His cheeks and the bridge of his nose were dusted with a hint of pink, like he'd been out in the bright sun. It was a good look on him. Someone had hung garlands around the window and Theo was temptingly close to being under the mistletoe.

"Really good," Liam said between bites of soup. "Even if Gwendolyn is the human personification of a migraine, I've been inspired talking to the other writers and by the atmosphere here," he said, then added, "This soup is incredible. No wonder Stiles wanted that sausage so bad."

A smirk crossed Theo's face. "Stiles doesn't know what sausage he wants," he drawled, making Liam snort soup up his nose. "Sometimes he doesn't want a sausage at all. Just depends on the day and how self aware he's feeling."

Pausing for a moment, Liam asked, "Are you two…"

"Hell no," Theo said firmly. "God no, frenemies on a good day. Plus we're not sure if he's actually admitted to himself that he's a member of club bi or if he's subconsciously throwing himself at that guy in your writing group."

"I knew he was flirting with Jordan!" Liam said with a grin, then blinked. "He's kinda…."

"We were all impressed he didn't dump chili on the poor guy," Theo huffed. "Chunky peanut butter is smoother."

Nibbling his garlic bread, Liam asked, "You could do better?"

A softer smile graced Theo's face and he hummed, "Well, I think I'd start by asking if you have any plans tonight after the dinner rush?"

"I think I do now."

* * *

Later that night, Theo drove them into town and parked at a pub style bar. They sat in a booth and chatted over a plate of nachos. Neither of them excelled at pool and they were pretty evenly matched at the dart board.

Meaning they both sucked.

The conversation flowed easily as they discussed a bit about their pasts, old relationships, goals and more. Liam was surprised to learn that Theo had a bit of a bad boy past and he was sure his own IED came as a shock. Neither revelation put a damper on a nice night though and it seemed like soon it was growing late.

"I hate to say it, but I've got to be up in the kitchen early," Theo said, finger tracing around the rim of his glass. "Any chance you want to continue this tomorrow afternoon? We could go skating?"

"I love skating," Liam agreed quickly, before his brain could catch up with his mouth.

He just… he liked Theo and wanted to spend more time with him. The fact that he hadn't been skating since he was seven was inconsequential.

* * *

Of course, every time he fell onto the ice, Liam was reminded why he hadn't been skating in years. After a morning spent writing, he joined Theo and a bunch of others at the frozen pond.

"So, I'm assuming your love of skating is more of a theory that an actual practical love," Theo said, gliding to a graceful stop beside Liam. He moved easily on the ice, like it was normal to swan around with dull knives strapped to his feet.

Sitting up, Liam groaned, making a mental catalogue of all his new bruises. "You're not wrong," he admitted, taking the hand Theo offered to pull him to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily, falling against Theo, clinging in an attempt to remain upright.

Theo grinned at him, breath a warm puff against Liam's cheek. "How about you focus on staying upright and I'll pull you?"

Easier said than done, but Liam wobbled gamely on his death blades as Theo began to skate backwards (show off), clasping Liam's hands and towing him along. It was a slow process to circle the pond and Liam tried not to feel embarrassed as small children whizzed by.

Once he got used to balancing, it actually wasn't too bad. Theo wasn't spinning him or going too fast. He could maybe see how people found this pleasant…

But he was still very glad when they found their way back to the benches and he traded skates for his boots. "Sorry, I guess skating really isn't for me," he said, a little sad to cut their afternoon short.

"I could make us some of my special hot chocolate," Theo offered with a warm smile.

"That sounds amazing."

* * *

Sitting in the kitchen, watching Theo stir a pot of whole milk and chocolate, Liam felt a stab as he realized his time at the Inn was nearly half over. He hadn't come here looking to meet anyone, he just wanted to get away, but…

"So what do you guys do during the...Not busy seasons?" He asked curiously.

Theo dropped a bit of butter into the pot of chocolate. "Well, most of us don't bunk here in the off season," he said. "I've got a little cabin about 30 minutes from here. It's not much, but it's mine. The Inn is open year round and we can find plenty of work if we need to supplement our incomes. I cater a lot of weddings and parties. What do you do when you're not penning the next great American novel?"

Liam groaned. "I work for an accountant. It's so boring. But it pays well and Hayden wasn't working, so… I'll probably have to stick with it for a while until I find a new place, ugh."

"Starting over isn't always a bad thing," Theo mused, a bit of peppermint extract added to the pot.

The sweet aroma of chocolate and peppermint filled the air and Liam had to agree. Maybe things ending with Hayden was a positive after all…

* * *

That evening, after dinner, a staff meeting was called. Everyone clustered in the staff dorm, curious, save for Peter, who was reclining on one of the couches. He merely shrugged when asked what was going on.

Soon they discovered Bobby had called his confab.

"All right, by now I'm sure everyone has seen the 'Mentor' Greenberg hired for the Romance Writing Workshop. Clearly, I can never delegate any responsibility ever again because the results are… horrifying and grabby."

"Fortunately, most of the writers seem more bemused and morbidly fascinated as to what absolute batshit insanity will erupt from her next, but a few have complained. As we're known for providing quality content at these workshops, not… that, we're going to try to salvage this with a guest lecturer. A friend of mine in the publishing industry is sending up another author. I have no idea what dark corner of Hell she dragged this person out of, but beggars can't be choosers."

"Unfortunately, the cotton candy menace will remain. Keep vigilant boys. Guard your nethers. She's quick for such a short, powder puff of a person and those nails hurt if they hit soft flesh…"

Theo really didn't pay much attention as Bobby's rant dissolved into some sort of groping PTSD moment.

His mind was elsewhere.

* * *

Sitting huddled in blankets in the bed of Theo's truck, Liam wrapped his gloved fingers around the warm thermos. Theo's shoulder pressed against his as they looked up into the clear night sky.

"You don't see stars like this back home," he said, quietly.

"Too much light pollution for proper stargazing," Theo agreed, his white teeth gleaming in the moonlight. That nice flush was back on his cheeks and Liam was once again struck with the urge to kiss him.

This time, nothing stopped him.

Theo's lips tasted like hot chocolate and possibilities.

* * *

Liam didn't know if it was the atmosphere of the Inn or something else, but he knew he was feeling a high of inspiration upon returning to his room. There had been heated kisses shared in Theo's truck (which reminded Liam of high school) and he'd almost asked the other man back to his room…

But that seemed a little too fast. There was a social the next night and Theo was going to be there. Maybe after that they could...

With that possibility in mind, Liam spent a few hours working on his manuscript before drifting off into a sleep filled with wonderful dreams.

* * *

"Seriously, this was a great idea, Mase," Liam enthused as they sat down with the rest of the writers. "I've written like six chapters in the last few days, set up a new email account and contacted a few publishers."

Hayden had his old email and he just wanted to cut ties.

"That's great," Corey replied with a grin. "This place is amazing, isn't it? So… charming. I've gotten a lot of writing done myself."

"Same," Mason agreed with a grin that told Liam they'd been doing a lot of not writing as well. "Have you seen the pink clad wonder? She was buzzing around the dining hall earlier like someone used Redbull instead of water to brew her caramel latte from hell."

When Gwendolyn barreled into the room, Liam had to agree with Mason. The woman immediately began to howl about the importance of a relatable heroine… who also had to be perfect but unaware of that fact.

"Remember, your heroine should be every young lady reading your story, her ideal version of herself, the version the strapping hero is enthralled by. She must embody all the good in the world and, if you must, give her a cute negative trait, like she has a cute pouty face or brown hair," Gwendolyn said, then beamed toward the back of the room. "I'm sure you're all delighted to meet Courtesan Publishing's newest published author Halden Roberto! She's nice enough to take time out of her no doubt busy schedule to come talk to you about breaking into the field."

Gwen managed to sound enamoured, envious and bitter all at once and Liam felt like he was going to be sick when he heard a voice speak from the door.

"It's Hayden Romero."

"Well, shit," Mason muttered as they turned to where Hayden was standing. She was giving the room a bright smile, eyes hidden by sunglasses. Her hair was neatly styled and she wore a stylish black coat over a red dress and black heels.

Really not an outfit suited for a snowy lodge, but whatever… and of course, Gabe was lurking behind her, practically throwing their bags at Scott and Stiles and leaving a slimy trail of hair gel in his wake.

"Hello," Hayden said as she strode into the room as though she owned it. Gwendolyn's minions tittered happily. "I know we're all going to have a wonderful time here. I've always wanted to come to one of these retreats!"

"Then why did you always refuse to one when we invited you?" Corey called out, then flushed and shrank back in his seat when he realized he'd spoken.

Her fake smile barely faltered when she saw them. "Corey...I didn't know you were going to be here."

"We come every year," Mason retorted, giving her an unimpressed stare.

"Well, I must have misunderstood what you were talking about," she said breezily. "I love the idea of these events!"

As she babbled, Gabe slunk into a chair behind them and, one by one, kicked the back of their chairs. "Shut the fuck up losers and let my girl educate you." Allison turned in her seat to glare at Gabe, who smirked at her and said, "'Sup."

She turned her eyes to Mason. "If this ass keeps it up, let me know. My dad taught me how to handle morons like him."

As Gabe went to kick Liam's chair again, her hand shot back and caught his ankle, jerking his leg forward and causing him to fall out of his chair.

"I like your style, girl," Danielle said and they traded fistbumps as Gabe sputtered on the floor.

"Quiet!" Gwendolyn shrieked. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves, rough housing when you should be absorbing creative power nuggets! Please, Harmony, tell us a bit about your heroine!"

For a moment, Hayden glared at Liam, then began, "My heroine, Hannah Romeo, is a gorgeous young woman, though she of course thinks she's pretty average. She's an extraordinary artist trapped in a boring relationship and a world of mediocrity when she meets a charming and mysterious stranger…"

Oh boy.

* * *

"So, my ex showed up here today," Liam said with a sigh as he perched on a stool in the corner of the kitchen. Theo and Isaac were plating lunches with impressive speed and he didn't want to get in the way.

"She followed you?" Theo asked as he passed a turkey/apple/cheddar/bacon panini and a bowl of beef stew out to Malia. "That seems kind of stalkery."

Isaac nodded in quiet agreement as he flipped burgers.

Liam sighed. "No, it's more of an unfortunate coincidence. She's here to speak at the workshop as a newly published author."

"Ah," Theo replied. "That… is definitely unfortunate."

He nodded. "What's worse is that she brought her douchebag new boyfriend, who's the guy I caught her with in our bed."

"Ouch," both Theo and Isaac agreed as Alec popped through the doors looking harried.

"The guy at table 2 wants a quadruple cheeseburger, well done, with Swiss cheese, sweet pickles, a whole wheat bun, heirloom tomatoes, Vidalia onions, ten strips of bacon and one lettuce leaf," the young man spat, then heaved a sigh, "The lady wants strawberry Caprese salad with brown butter balsamic vinaigrette...but she doesn't want any butter used, just margarine, add extra chia and hemp seeds. Pinky Pie wants another one of her 'coffees' and a pan of peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream."

Silence hung in the air for a long moment before Theo slowly said, "None of that is on the menu."

Alec nodded. "I told them that and she said that they are VIPs and thus can order whatever they want."

An aggrieved sigh escaped Theo and he strode out of the kitchen. Liam joined Isaac and Alec at the window and watched as Theo strode toward Hayden's table.

"Hi there. I'm the head chef here at Hale Inn and I just wanted to come out to ask what you'd like from the menu today."

Hayden smiled brightly at him. "Oh did that boy forget my order? I'll have the strawberry…"

Theo held up a hand. "That's not on the menu. We serve menu items, Miss."

She chuckled. "Don't you know who I am. I'm a VIP and I want what I ordered."

"If you had let us know in advance, we could have accommodated you," Theo said. "As it is, there are several salads on the menu."

"Strawberry Caprese Salad," Hayden insisted and Gabe glowered.

"Get her what she wants! It's your job."

Theo heaved a sigh. "We don't have any strawberries on hand as they aren't on the menu."

"Oh," Hayden said, face crumpling into a pout. "Fine, a Waldorf Salad with Honeycrisp apples on top."

"She'll have the Cobb Salad," Peter Hale spoke up from his table. When Hayden gawked at him, he held up the menu. "Order. From. The. Menu. He's already going to have to turn four perfectly innocent burgers into shoe leather for the mule kicked Stallone over there. Don't push it and don't bother asking to speak to the manager because I own the whole resort."

Smirking, Theo made his escape back to the kitchen.

"She's going to pitch a fit," Liam warned and Tho shrugged.

"Peter doesn't give a shit clearly, so I don't have to either," Theo said and, when Alec winced, he directed, "Drop their food on the table and run."

* * *

After lunch, Theo and Isaac swung into prep for the social that was planned for the evening. They wanted to have everything ready ahead of time so they could mingle and have some fun. Even with Hayden here, Liam was looking forward to spending some more time with Theo.

Wanting to avoid ex-shaped drama, Liam sequestered himself in his room for a few hours to write and answer emails.

One was from a potential publisher, one who had been quite positive about the work Liam had submitted a few years earlier, though the short stories hadn't been what they were looking for at the time. When Liam had emailed to inquire about that, he'd never gotten another reply.

Today's email, from a Ms. Plume, started a puzzling line of thought. She asked if this was a new email and would he like his record updated. Then she asked him to confirm that his most recent email on file was LDHR5EVR … an email account he'd never heard of.

They went back and forth and, by the time Liam had to get ready for the social, he'd discovered that after his initial rejection, the publisher had received an email supposedly from him changing his email address and phone number.

What the hell?

He decided that he would have to look into that more later because he wanted to impress tonight (to look good for Theo and rub Hayden's nose in it). He spent a while taming his hair, shaved and ironed his pants because… well, he'd had them crammed in a corner of his bag because he hadn't really thought he'd need dress pants.

Thankfully, his blue sweater wasn't too wrinkled and he thought he looked pretty sharp. The social wasn't black tie or anything, so he knew that he would be more than presentable. The sweater made his eyes pop and he nodded at his reflection before leaving the room.

The dining hall had been rearranged, tables pushed against the walls and laden with all manner of food and drinks. The lovely, subtle holiday decor had been stepped up just a bit in deference of the festive mood.

A few guests were already grazing at the food tables and spiffed up staff were scattered around, most of them with a drink in hand.

Theo was standing off to one side of the room, looking dapper in dark jeans and a crisp white button down under a charcoal waistcoat that emphasized his trim waist and broad shoulders. Scott, Stiles and Isaac were with him, as were Allison, Jordan and Danny. Stiles was talking, gesturing wildly as as the others listened with varying degrees of interest/amusement.

"Hey," Liam said as he stopped by Theo, who handed him a glass of apple cider.

Before they could say more, Stiles turned to him and said, "Oh my God, she's your ex? How did you deal with that much diva? She's complained about everything!"

His eyes ticked over to where Hayden and Gabe were holding court for Gwendolyn and the minions. Scott was a bit less aggressive. "She's… a lot."

"She wasn't like this when we were dating," Liam protested and Mason, who had just arrived with Corey, snorted. "Not really!"

"You were blinded by love and the allure of sex," Corey said with a shrug, then pointed. "Pretty sure you were the only one who didn't see it."

They all chatted for a bit before Allison commented, "I didn't think this was a dance."

"It's not," Stiles told her. "I guess she was feeling like she wasn't getting enough attention. The fancy cocktail dress should have done it."

A slow Christmas song was being piped over the sound system very quietly and Hayden and Gabe were plastered together, swaying, in the center of the room. If they wanted to be the center of attention, they certainly got it…

At least until Malia pulled Kira out to dance and Boyd's fiancé Erica towed him out. Soon Mason and Corey were dancing as well, along with Scott and Allison and Stiles and Jordan. Isaac's face was red, but he was clearly pleased when Danny asked him to dance among the growing crowd.

"Your ex looks pissed," Theo murmured, his breath warm against Liam's ear. "Care to cut a rug?"

"Yeah," he replied and ooh boy, if Hayden was mad before, she was glaring daggers as Liam took Theo's hand… and after that he wasn't thinking about her.

He was thinking about the broad, firm chest pressed against his own and the smell of Theo's skin under a hint of woodsy cologne. Something about Theo felt so right that it made it easy for Liam to forget the job he hated, the cheating ex and just feel good…

Occasionally, he caught the baffled glances Hayden kept throwing him, but Liam rolled his eyes. She'd never really understood that he hadn't stopped being Bisexual just because they had been exclusive. He'd been with her and that was that. He wasn't a cheater.

Unlike her.

But now, well, he was a free man.

The brush of Theo's cheek against his own made Liam shiver in anticipation, a feeling he hadn't had in a long time.

* * *

Morning came way too early and Liam groaned, burying his face in his pillow even as he reached out, trying to pull Theo back into the warm cocoon of blankets. The other man laughed and allowed himself to fall back for a moment before rolling Liam onto his back and pinning him to the mattress for a kiss.

Too soon, Theo was moving again, fishing his blue and white striped boxer briefs off of the floor and stepping into them. It was definitely a crime to cover that ass.

"I think more people would consider it a crime if I didn't," Theo said, laughter in his voice.

Oh. "In my defense, I'm mostly asleep," Liam replied. "I can not be held responsible for my words. Also, no one could object to your ass. It's a work of art. A work of art that needs to come back to bed."

"Sorry, this work of art has to go to work," Theo chuckled. "Breakfast doesn't cook itself. Go back to sleep."

As much as Liam wanted to protest, the alarm clock on the bedside table read 3:45am and, with another kiss, Theo was gone and sleep was oh so tempting…

He had very good dreams.

* * *

That morning's workshop began on a bad note. Gwendolyn was on the warpath, muttering about shallow men and unrealistic expectations and women who look like starved Disney princesses. Her grab at Isaac's ass was more aggressive than usual and he barely dodged out of range.

Slurping her gross 'coffee' seemed to distract her for a bit and a few moments later Hayden swept in.

"Today, I want to talk about not losing your momentum," she said, fluffing her hair as she strolled around the room. "I'm already working on the sequel to my novel. In it, Hannah will have to contend with her boring ex, who tries to manipulate her into taking him back…"

Liam closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.

* * *

Not wanting to deal with Hayden's nonsense during lunch, Liam slipped into the kitchen. He was surprised to see Danny back there too, hanging out while Isaac worked.

"My friends, Jackson and Lydia, are having one of their very dramatic squabbles that will end in a very gross make up," Danny informed him with an eye roll. "So I'm avoiding getting caught in the middle."

Liam wrinkled his nose. "That sounds… not fun. My friends don't fight much, relationship goals really, but my ex showed up with her new guy, who's an ass to me at work, so…"

"I'd hide from that too," Danny agreed. "Plus...nice views back here."

A surprised laugh escaped Liam, but he nodded before his phone chimed. He read the email, then sighed. "I think my old email address hates me. Apparently none of the emails I sent a publisher have gotten to them during the last two years and there was some weird mix up with them getting an email they thought was from me that changed all my contact information."

Danny blinked. "That's very odd. I'm in IT, you want me to take a look at it? Did you bring your laptop."

"Yeah, in my room. That would be great. I'll grab it after lunch," Liam said as Isaac pushed a couple of bowls of rich tomato soup and fancy grilled cheese their way. "If I keep eating like this, I'm gonna get fat."

Theo threw him a wink. "We'll just have to work it off then, won't we?"

Honestly, that sounded pretty fun.

* * *

"How are you not cold? It's snowing, so it's literally freezing out here."

The glance Theo threw his way was amused. "It's 32F, so yeah, freezing, but barely," he retorted. "I'm used to the cold, plus I'm dressed for it."

"So am I," Liam protested, his gloved hand squeezing Theo's.

"No, you're not." There was teasing in Theo's tone. "I'm wearing a thermal base layer and wool socks under my clothes. My jeans are lined with flannel. My boots are waterproof and I'm wearing a hat."

Liam tipped his head, conceding the point. "You're in a vest, I have a coat."

"It's a thin coat and you haven't acclimated to the cold."

As they walked through the light snowfall, Liam asked, "How long till I get used to it?"

The question made Theo pause. "Well...how long are you staying?"

That made Liam's heart skip a beat and he bit his lip. "The workshop ends Saturday. We're supposed to head home on Sunday."

He didn't want to think about going back to LA. He wanted to stay here.

"You could, you know," Theo said softly, then asked, "Was that you thinking aloud again?"

Shit.

"I'm…"

"I just mean you can write anywhere and you said you didn't like your job, so…"

Oh wow. "Are you serious?"

Corn snow crunched under Theo's boots as he shifted, turning to face Liam. "Yeah, I am. I just… I think this… us, could be something."

Liam looked at Theo's nervous expression and let out a breath. "I do too. This all seems way too fast, but…."

"Arghhhhh!"

A cry carried over to where they stood as Bobby Finstock stalked out the back door of the Inn, hands gripping his hair. He paced a few times, kicked a pile of snow while muttering to himself and then flopped face first into the snow where he began to bury his head.

"What…?"

"He's fine. He never suffocates himself," Theo said with a shrug. "You were saying?"

It took a moment for Liam to regroup. "This is crazy fast. I don't normally do stuff like this, but so far, taking chances up here has worked out damn well."

Theo's smile was incandescent. "I'm glad you came here too."

Movies always romanticize kissing in the rain, but Liam was developing an appreciation for doing so as snow fell softly around him.

* * *

Telling Mason and Corey that he was thinking of staying in Vermont was going to be difficult, but Liam hoped they would understand. As he entered the dining room, he scanned the crowd and saw his friends at a far table. Mason gave him a wave and Liam headed their way.

As he reached the table, Danny joined him, looking troubled. "I finished looking at your old email account… did you know it was setup to redirect any emails to or from nine different publishers to LDHR5EVR?" He said as they sat.

"What?" Liam asked, puzzled. "I never set it up to do that… but that is the email the publisher said my info was changed to!"

From where he sat, Mason heaved a sigh. "What was that email again?"

Danny repeated the address and Mason began tapping at his phone. "What are you doing?" Liam asked and Mason shook his head, hitting send before looking up… and over toward Hayden's table.

She picked up her own phone, read the screen and her head snapped up as she gaped at Mason.

"So, clearly Hayden set up your email account to intercept any messages between yourself and publishers," Mason said in an angry tone. "That's cold."

For a long moment, Liam sat there in shock before addressing his ex. "You stole my emails from publishers?"

The room suddenly went silent, as a lot of the guests were writers who could understand how deep a betrayal that was. All eyes turned to Hayden, who flushed and stammered.

"I… It was for your own good!" She protested. "You don't handle rejection well so I just decided to play interference!"

Liam pushed back from the table and stood. "Liar! I've been trading emails with Penguin! They rejected my short story collection two years ago, but wanted to publish some in an anthology last year! Only they couldn't get in touch with me so it didn't happen because you changed my contact information!"

Anger coursed through him as he watched Hayden try to rally and save face. "An anthology? Might as well be a blog. You'll never be taken seriously if you lower yourself like that!"

Still seated at their table, eating crab puffs, Gabe smirked at Liam. "She did you a favor, Loser."

"Yes!" Hayden agreed briskly. "You should be thanking me!"

"Actually, he should file charges for computer crimes," a new voice said and it took a moment for Liam toRrealize Derek, the nephew of the Inn's owner, had spoken. "I have a friend who's a US Marshal."

Huh. He'd seen the man many times over the past week and had never heard him speak. The rest of the staff was so friendly that it stood out.

"And my dad's the sheriff," Stiles added. "You should report this."

"Exactly," Danny agreed. "Hacking is a serious offense."

Hayden rolled her eyes. "I didn't hack anything! His email passwords are on his phone! I don't have to put up with this! Gabe, we're leaving! Now!"

With that, she stalked out of the dining hall, Gabe following, though he paused long enough to flip Liam off and sneer, "See you at work, Cuck!"

All class, Gabe. All class.

"Dinner and a show tonight," Peter hale drawled from his seat. "Exciting."

"You okay, Liam?" Mason asked, clearly concerned and Liam took a breath.

His anger was fading fast. "Yeah," he replied, dropping into his chair. "Thanks Danny. I needed to know that."

Danny patted his shoulder amiably and wandered off to his own friends.

Turning to Mason and Corey, Liam blurted, "I'm quitting my job. I need a fresh start."

Mason nodded. "Understandable, man. We'll help you job hunt once we're back home."

Across the room, Liam saw Theo's face appear in the window to the kitchen. He spoke animatedly to Scott for a moment before looking over at Liam and giving him one of those soft smiles that was full of promises for the future.

Taking a breath, Liam began, "Actually…."

* * *

Epilogue

Liam moved to Vermont and got a job in admin at the local sheriff's station. Six months later, his first novel was published and stayed on the NYT best sellers list for nearly a year. He and Theo are very happy together.

Mason and Corey got engaged on Christmas Day. Both continue to have growing literary careers and are planning their wedding. The reception will be at Hale Inn.

Danny and Isaac are still together, as they decided they wanted to give the long distance thing a chance.

Scott and Allison eloped on Saturday as soon as the workshop was over. They are blissfully happy together though Scott is terrified of her parents.

Stiles and Jordan keep in touch, but have yet to work their way past that awkward flirting stage. Scott is planning an intervention.

Malia and Kira are keeping things casual but plan to continue to see each other and Kira is coming back to Vermont in the summer.

Boyd and Erica got married as planned on New Year's Day. They are expecting their first child. Erica wants to name it Axel.

Danielle and her boyfriend split amicably but she met someone new not long after and it's looking like he might be the one.

Jackson and Lydia broke up when he came out. They remain best friends. He is dating one of Danny's ex's and Lydia, who is dating a male model, discovered how to harness cold fusion.

Derek and Braeden continue to be a good match. Both are intensely private and won't discuss their relationship but they make each other happy.

Bobby Finstock continues to run the activities at Hale Inn. He has not killed Greenberg, but he has revoked his ability to book guest speakers.

Peter Hale continues to observe his guests like they are his own personal soap opera.

Gwendolyn's pink clad minions continue to self publish on Amazon. Keep at it ladies!

Gwendolyn herself (with the help of a minion) wrote a script about a group of writers who fall in love with locals while at a quaint mountain in for a writing workshop. She sold the script to the Hallmark Channel.

The barn cats continue to be fluffy as they plot world domination. Theo and Liam are their favorite humans.


End file.
